Joshua 8:14-23

8:14 When the king of Ai saw Israel, he and his whole army quickly got up the next day and went out to fight Israel at the meeting place near the Arabah. ¹  But he did not realize ²  men were hiding behind the city. ³  8:15 Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated by them and they retreated along the way to the desert. 8:16 All the reinforcements ⁴  in Ai ⁵  were ordered ⁶  to chase them; they chased Joshua and were lured away from the city. 8:17 No men were left in Ai or Bethel; ⁷  they all went out after Israel. ⁸  They left the city wide open and chased Israel.

8:18 The Lord told Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the curved sword in your hand, for I am handing the city ⁹  over to you.” So Joshua held out toward Ai the curved sword in his hand. 8:19 When he held out his hand, the men waiting in ambush rose up quickly from their place and attacked. ¹⁰  They entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire. 8:20 When the men of Ai turned around, they saw ¹¹  the smoke from the city ascending into the sky and were so shocked they were unable to flee in any direction. ¹²  In the meantime the men who were retreating to the desert turned against their pursuers. 8:21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the city was going up in smoke, ¹³  they turned around and struck down the men of Ai. 8:22 At the same time the men who had taken the city came out to fight, and the men of Ai were trapped in the middle. ¹⁴  The Israelites struck them down, leaving no survivors or refugees. 8:23 But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.

[8:14]  ¹ tn Heb “When the king of Ai saw, the men of Ai hurried and rose early and went out to meet Israel for battle, he and all his people at the meeting place before the Arabah.”

[8:14]  ² tn Or “know.”

[8:14]  ³ tn Heb “that (there was) an ambush for him behind the city.”

[8:16]  ⁴ tn Heb “All the people.”

[8:16]  ⁵ tc Some textual witnesses read “the city.”

[8:16]  ⁶ tn Or “were summoned”; or “were mustered.”

[8:17]  ⁷ tc The LXX omits the words “or Bethel.”

[8:17]  ⁸ tn Heb “who did not go out after Israel.”

[8:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Ai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:19]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “and ran.”

[8:20]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and they saw, and look.” The Hebrew term הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to the scene and invites the audience to view the events from the perspective of the men of Ai.

[8:20]  ¹² tn Heb “and there was not in them hands to flee here or there.” The Hebrew term יָדַיִם (yadayim, “hands”) is idiomatic for “strength.”

[8:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “and that the smoke of the city ascended.”

[8:22]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and these went out from the city to meet them and they were for Israel in the middle, some on this side, and others on the other side.”